*Priesthood Session

Priesthood quorum members must seek out the wayward brethren of their quorums and bring them back to the fold, said President Thomas S. Monson in his priesthood address Saturday night.

“There are vast numbers of priesthood bearers, who for whatever reason have drifted from their duties and have chosen to pursue another path,” President Monson said.

“The Lord speaks rather plainly to us; to reach out and rescue such individuals and bring them and theirs to the table of the Lord.”

While serving as the president of the Teacher’s Quorum, President Monson learned the value of fellowshipping others through a powerful example from his quorum advisor.

The advisor, knowing of young Tom Monson’s joy in raising pigeons, let the boy take two of his own pigeons to raise at the Monson home.

After 10 days, Tom let the pigeons loose to see if they would be loyal in returning to their new home. The hen that the advisor gave him returned not to Tom’s house, but to the advisor’s.

Upon retrieval of the bird, the advisor asked Tom to help bring back one of their own lost members of the quorum.

After several more weeks with the pigeons back at his own house, Tom released them again, only to discover that the hen had once again returned to the advisor.

Each time this would happen, the advisor would challenge the young Teacher’s Quorum president to fellowship another young man that had gone astray.

“I owe a lot to that one-eyed pigeon,” President Monson said. “I owe more to that quorum advisor.”

“He had the patience and the skill to help me prepare for responsibilities of today.”

Besides reaching out personally to each member, brethren of the priesthood can help others within their quorum by simply doing the work of the Lord.

President Monson said that Christ himself was the exemplar of this principle.

“His lasting lessons and His marvelous miracles usually occurred when He was doing His Father’s work.”

“On the road to Jericho, Christ restored sight to one that was blind,” he said. He administered the sacrament and testified of His own divinity after having left the tomb.

Fellowshipping of members that have gone astray is an important responsibility of every quorum member around the world, President Monson said.

“The task is ours, lets us remember and never forget.”
Copyright Brigham Young University 3 Oct 2004